AKC Gazette July 2006

The Boxer in Cyberspace

As I was picking up my mail the other day at our local post office, I was reminded that it was not so long ago that I might have been standing in the same place, eagerly anticipating some puppy photos, or a pedigree, or a local match flyer. The World Wide Web, however, has ushered in a vastly different era of communications.

Today, the click of a mouse (remember when that sounded odd?) brings us letters and photographs from anyone to whom we have written with a request, and from many that we have not, both welcome and unwelcome. They often come immediately, sometimes the same day we ask for them. The pictures may bear little resemblance to a stud dog in question, having benefited from a busy Photoshop program. But at least we do not have to wait to see them. Used wisely and well, in the hands of responsible breeders and stud dog owners, they afford instant gratification when making breeding choices, or when deciding which show prospect puppy is worth our time and attention, not to mention pocketbook.

Likewise, the Web lets us log onto any of several excellent auction sites, to review what is available from our doggy past and present—old magazines, books, statues, drawings, or other memorabilia that represent the history of our breed. I have seen early Boehm and Rosenthal porcelain boxers sold on line. Less pricey, but of real historic value, back copies of the Boxer Review and pioneering Boxer issues of Alice Rosenthal’s ‘Dog News’ occasionally come on the market, and are immeasurably valuable to anyone with a keen interest in Boxer history. John Wagner’s seminal work, “The Boxer,” is not expensive and is often sold on eBay.

And love them or hate them, we can subscribe to any of several active Boxer ‘Lists.’ These up-to-the-minute e-mail forums afford the novice and veteran alike a bully pulpit to say whatever comes to mind. Sometimes silly, sometimes adversarial, and occasionally valuable, this is the place to ask for help with a dying puppy in the middle of the night—likely someone somewhere is watching and may have a helpful hint or two for you. These are the places to air grievances or share health related questions and answers—so long as you put the responses into perspective and realize that some of your most assiduous responders might not have the faintest idea of what they are talking about. Regardless of their shortcomings, the Lists are invaluable to get the word out about a lost or stolen Boxer, or to enlist a ride for a dog that needs to travel from one state to the next.

The one thing that the Internet cannot replace, but perhaps can rekindle…is our own natural curiosity about our beloved Boxers—their history as hunters, circus animals, war couriers,, their early progenitors, the origins of their quintessential happy nature—these are all topics that we can investigate using internet tools… to find anecdotes, or first person accounts of glory days past. Used wisely and well, and sometimes with a healthy dose of skepticism, the World Wide Web has given us all opportunities that we could only have dreamed about a few short years ago.

Stephanie Abraham
P. O. Box 346
Scotland, CT 06264